System and Method for Intersection Collision Avoidance

ABSTRACT

An intersection collision avoidance system determines, for an ego vehicle, a direction indicated by its turn signal, its destination setting, or both, generates, where the direction is determined, a possible intended path relative to an intersection using a high-definition (HD) map and the direction, and generates, where the destination setting is determined, a possible intended path for using the HD map and the destination setting. Where the direction and the destination setting are both determined, the direction indicated by the turn signal is compared to the possible intended path generated using the destination setting, and one of the possible intended paths is selected based on the comparison. The system transmits, to a conflict detection module, a set of drive goals for the ego vehicle relative to the intersection that conforms to the intended path. The module can determine a possible collision with another road user using the drive goals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 63/304,879, filed Jan. 31, 2022, which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to navigating intersections, and moreparticularly to a system and method for intersection collisionavoidance.

BACKGROUND

Transportation network data from and related to the transportationnetwork and users of and proximate to the transportation network isavailable from sensors on vehicles traversing the transportation networkand from infrastructure sensors proximate to the transportationnetworks. For example, the transportation network data can be receivedor obtained from fixed infrastructure, such as traffic cameras andinductive-loop traffic sensors, self-reported locations, and stateinformation from connected road users and connected vehicle-mountedsensors. Processing the collected transportation network data to providemeaningful insights into the behavior of road users is difficult.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are aspects, features, elements, and implementationsfor intersection collision avoidance.

An aspect of the disclosed implementations is a system for intersectioncollision avoidance that includes a processor. The processor isconfigured to determine, for an ego vehicle in proximity to anintersection of a vehicle transportation network, at least one adirection indicated by a turn signal of the ego vehicle or a destinationsetting of the ego vehicle, generate, where the direction of the turnsignal is determined, a possible intended path for the ego vehiclerelative to the intersection using a high-definition map and thedirection indicated by the turn signal, and generate, where thedestination setting is determined, a possible intended path for the egovehicle relative to the intersection using the high-definition map andthe destination setting. The processor is configured to, where thedirection indicated by the turn signal and the destination setting aredetermined, compare the direction indicated by the turn signal to thepossible intended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting, select, where the direction matches the possibleintended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting, the possible intended path generated using thehigh-definition map and the destination setting as an intended path forthe ego vehicle, and select, where the direction does not match thepossible intended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting, the possible intended path generated using thehigh-definition map and the direction as the intended path for the egovehicle. The processor is configured to select, where the directionindicated by the turn signal is determined and the destination settingis not determined, the possible intended path generated using thehigh-definition map and the direction as the intended path for the egovehicle, and select, where the direction of the turn signal is notdetermined and the destination setting is determined, the possibleintended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting as the intended path for the ego vehicle. Theprocessor is configured to transmit, to a conflict detection module, aset of drive goals for the ego vehicle relative to the intersection thatconforms to the intended path, wherein the conflict detection moduledetermines a potential future collision with an other road user of theintersection based on the set of drive goals.

An aspect of the disclosed implementations is another system forintersection collision avoidance that includes a processor. Theprocessor is configured to determine, for an ego vehicle in proximity toan intersection of a vehicle transportation network, at least one of adirection indicated by a turn signal of the ego vehicle or a destinationsetting of the ego vehicle, generate, where the direction of the turnsignal is determined, a possible intended path for the ego vehiclerelative to the intersection using a high-definition map and thedirection indicated by the turn signal, and generate, where thedestination setting is determined, a possible intended path for the egovehicle relative to the intersection using the high-definition map andthe destination setting. The processor is configured to, where thedirection indicated by the turn signal and the destination setting aredetermined, compare the direction indicated by the turn signal to thepossible intended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting, and select, based on a result of the compare, anintended path for the ego vehicle as either the possible intended pathgenerated using the high-definition map and the destination setting orthe possible intended path generated using the high-definition map andthe direction indicated by the turn signal. The processor is configuredto transmit, to a conflict detection module, a set of drive goals forthe ego vehicle relative to the intersection that conforms to theintended path, wherein the conflict detection module determines apotential future collision with an other road user of the intersectionbased on the set of drive goals.

An aspect of the disclosed implementations is a method for intersectioncollision avoidance including determining, for an ego vehicle inproximity to an intersection of a vehicle transportation network, adirection indicated by a turn signal of the ego vehicle and adestination setting of the ego vehicle, generating a possible intendedpath for the ego vehicle relative to the intersection using ahigh-definition map and the direction indicated by the turn signal,generating a possible intended path for the ego vehicle relative to theintersection using the high-definition map and the destination setting.The method also includes comparing the direction indicated by the turnsignal to the possible intended path generated using the high-definitionmap and the destination setting, selecting, based on a result of thecomparing, an intended path for the ego vehicle as either the possibleintended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting or the possible intended path generated using thehigh-definition map and the direction indicated by the turn signal, andtransmitting, to a conflict detection module, a set of drive goals forthe ego vehicle relative to the intersection that conforms to theintended path, wherein the conflict detection module determines apotential future collision with an other road user of the intersectionbased on the set of drive goals.

These and other aspects of the present disclosure are disclosed in thefollowing detailed description of the embodiments, the appended claims,and the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent or patent application publication withcolor drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and paymentof the necessary fee.

The disclosed technology is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Itis emphasized that, according to common practice, the various featuresof the drawings may not be to scale. On the contrary, the dimensions ofthe various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.Further, like reference numbers refer to like elements throughout thedrawings unless otherwise noted.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a portion of a vehicle in which theaspects, features, and elements disclosed herein may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of a portion of a vehicletransportation and communication system in which the aspects, features,and elements disclosed herein may be implemented.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a system for intersection collision avoidanceaccording to implementations of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of communications between a vehicleand the system of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a system that generates a shared world model forintersection collision avoidance according to implementations of thisdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for determining the intent of avehicle.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of hazard zones at an intersection.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a three-way intersection where a hazard zoneaccording to FIG. 7 is used to determine a potential conflict.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating intended paths of two vehicles anddistances between the two vehicles at future time points used todetermine a potential conflict at an intersection.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a four-way intersection used to explain how togenerate targeted warnings in response to conflict detection.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a four-way intersection used to explain how toperform conflict detection in the presence of an occluded road user.

FIG. 12A is an example of a notification issued to a connected vehiclefrom conflict detection according to the teachings herein.

FIG. 12B is another example of a notification issued to a connectedvehicle from conflict detection according to the teachings herein.

FIG. 12C is an example of a notification issued to a pedestrian fromconflict detection according to the teachings herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A vehicle may traverse a portion of a vehicle transportation network.The vehicle transportation network can include one or more unnavigableareas, such as a building; one or more partially navigable areas, suchas a parking area (e.g., a parking lot, a parking space, etc.); one ormore navigable areas, such as roads (which include lanes, medians,intersections, etc.); or a combination thereof. The vehicle may use itsnative sensors, which generate or capture data corresponding to anoperational environment of the vehicle, or a portion thereof, while thevehicle traverses the vehicle transportation network. The vehicle maythen use this data to identify potential collisions or hazards (e.g.,other road users), which can be used for notifications to an operator,for input to safety systems, for input into advanced driver-assistancesystems (ADAS), or some combination thereof.

As mentioned above, other data is available for the purpose ofidentifying potential collisions or hazards. Processing the collectedtransportation network data from the vehicle sensors and from othervehicles and infrastructure sensors is complicated by its large volume.A large volume of data tends to increase latency in providing insightsinto the future behavior. Moreover, the data regarding a single roaduser (e.g., from different sources) can be inconsistent or contradictoryat any given point in time. A large volume of data can also result inunneeded notifications to a particular road user, such as a vehicle ofinterest, also referred to as an ego vehicle. These issues areparticularly acute when an ego vehicle is approaching or within anintersection, which is the most complex and hazardous area of atransportation network.

Various solutions described herein improve operation of an ego vehicleapproaching, navigating, etc., an intersection that reduces latency overconventional techniques for processing date, resolves road user datafrom different sources, effectively targets road users for notificationsto avoid collisions, or combinations thereof. To describe someimplementations of the intersection collision avoidance according to theteachings herein in greater detail, reference is first made to theenvironment in which this disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a portion of a vehicle 100 in whichthe aspects, features, and elements disclosed herein may be implemented.The vehicle 100 includes a chassis 102, a powertrain 104, a controller114, wheels 132/134/136/138, and may include any other element orcombination of elements of a vehicle. Although the vehicle 100 is shownas including four wheels 132/134/136/138 for simplicity, any otherpropulsion device or devices, such as a propeller or tread, may be used.In FIG. 1 , the lines interconnecting elements, such as the powertrain104, the controller 114, and the wheels 132/134/136/138, indicate thatinformation, such as data or control signals; power, such as electricalpower or torque; or both information and power may be communicatedbetween the respective elements. For example, the controller 114 mayreceive power from the powertrain 104 and communicate with thepowertrain 104, the wheels 132/134/136/138, or both, to control thevehicle 100, which can include accelerating, decelerating, steering, orotherwise controlling the vehicle 100.

The powertrain 104 includes a power source 106, a transmission 108, asteering unit 110, a vehicle actuator 112, and may include any otherelement or combination of elements of a powertrain, such as asuspension, a drive shaft, axles, or an exhaust system. Although shownseparately, the wheels 132/134/136/138 may be included in the powertrain104.

The power source 106 may be any device or combination of devicesoperative to provide energy, such as electrical energy, thermal energy,or kinetic energy. For example, the power source 106 includes an engine,such as an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, or acombination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor andis operative (or configured) to provide kinetic energy as a motive forceto one or more of the wheels 132/134/136/138. In some embodiments, thepower source 106 includes a potential energy unit, such as one or moredry cell batteries, such as nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn),nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion); solar cells; fuelcells; or any other device capable of providing energy.

The transmission 108 receives energy, such as kinetic energy, from thepower source 106 and transmits the energy to the wheels 132/134/136/138to provide a motive force. The transmission 108 may be controlled by thecontroller 114, the vehicle actuator 112, or both. The steering unit 110may be controlled by the controller 114, the vehicle actuator 112, orboth and controls the wheels 132/134/136/138 to steer the vehicle. Thevehicle actuator 112 may receive signals from the controller 114 and mayactuate or control the power source 106, the transmission 108, thesteering unit 110, or any combination thereof to operate the vehicle100.

In the illustrated embodiment, the controller 114 includes a locationunit 116, an electronic communication unit 118, a processor 120, amemory 122, a user interface 124, a sensor 126, and an electroniccommunication interface 128. Although shown as a single unit, any one ormore elements of the controller 114 may be integrated into any number ofseparate physical units. For example, the user interface 124 and theprocessor 120 may be integrated in a first physical unit, and the memory122 may be integrated in a second physical unit. Although not shown inFIG. 1 , the controller 114 may include a power source, such as abattery. Although shown as separate elements, the location unit 116, theelectronic communication unit 118, the processor 120, the memory 122,the user interface 124, the sensor 126, the electronic communicationinterface 128, or any combination thereof can be integrated in one ormore electronic units, circuits, or chips.

In some embodiments, the processor 120 includes any device orcombination of devices, now-existing or hereafter developed, capable ofmanipulating or processing a signal or other information, for exampleoptical processors, quantum processors, molecular processors, or acombination thereof. For example, the processor 120 may include one ormore special-purpose processors, one or more digital signal processors,one or more microprocessors, one or more controllers, one or moremicrocontrollers, one or more integrated circuits, one or moreApplication Specific Integrated Circuits, one or more Field ProgrammableGate Arrays, one or more programmable logic arrays, one or moreprogrammable logic controllers, one or more state machines, or anycombination thereof. The processor 120 may be operatively coupled withthe location unit 116, the memory 122, the electronic communicationinterface 128, the electronic communication unit 118, the user interface124, the sensor 126, the powertrain 104, or any combination thereof. Forexample, the processor may be operatively coupled with the memory 122via a communication bus 130.

The processor 120 may be configured to execute instructions. Suchinstructions may include instructions for remote operation, which may beused to operate the vehicle 100 from a remote location, including theoperations center. The instructions for remote operation may be storedin the vehicle 100 or received from an external source, such as atraffic management center, or server computing devices, which mayinclude cloud-based server computing devices. The processor 120 may alsoimplement some or all of the proactive risk mitigation described herein.

The memory 122 may include any tangible non-transitory computer-usableor computer-readable medium capable of, for example, containing,storing, communicating, or transporting machine-readable instructions orany information associated therewith, for use by or in connection withthe processor 120. The memory 122 may include, for example, one or moresolid state drives, one or more memory cards, one or more removablemedia, one or more read-only memories (ROM), one or more random-accessmemories (RAM), one or more registers, one or more low power double datarate (LPDDR) memories, one or more cache memories, one or more disks(including a hard disk, a floppy disk, or an optical disk), a magneticor optical card, or any type of non-transitory media suitable forstoring electronic information, or any combination thereof.

The electronic communication interface 128 may be a wireless antenna, asshown, a wired communication port, an optical communication port, or anyother wired or wireless unit capable of interfacing with a wired orwireless electronic communication medium 140.

The electronic communication unit 118 may be configured to transmit orreceive signals via the wired or wireless electronic communicationmedium 140, such as via the electronic communication interface 128.Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 1 , the electronic communicationunit 118 is configured to transmit, receive, or both via any wired orwireless communication medium, such as radio frequency (RF), ultraviolet(UV), visible light, fiber optic, wire line, or a combination thereof.Although FIG. 1 shows a single electronic communication unit 118 and asingle electronic communication interface 128, any number ofcommunication units and any number of communication interfaces may beused. In some embodiments, the electronic communication unit 118 caninclude a dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) unit, a wirelesssafety unit (WSU), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 802.11p (WiFi-P), or a combination thereof.

The location unit 116 may determine geolocation information, includingbut not limited to longitude, latitude, elevation, direction of travel,or speed, of the vehicle 100. For example, the location unit includes aglobal positioning system (GPS) unit, such as a Wide Area AugmentationSystem (WAAS) enabled National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA)unit, a radio triangulation unit, or a combination thereof. The locationunit 116 can be used to obtain information that represents, for example,a current heading of the vehicle 100, a current position of the vehicle100 in two or three dimensions, a current angular orientation of thevehicle 100, or a combination thereof.

The user interface 124 may include any unit capable of being used as aninterface by a person, including any of a virtual keypad, a physicalkeypad, a touchpad, a display, a touchscreen, a speaker, a microphone, avideo camera, a sensor, and a printer. The user interface 124 may beoperatively coupled with the processor 120, as shown, or with any otherelement of the controller 114. Although shown as a single unit, the userinterface 124 can include one or more physical units. For example, theuser interface 124 includes an audio interface for performing audiocommunication with a person, and a touch display for performing visualand touch-based communication with the person.

The sensor 126 may include one or more sensors, such as an array ofsensors, which may be operable to provide information that may be usedto control the vehicle. The sensor 126 can provide information regardingcurrent operating characteristics of the vehicle or its surroundings.The sensor 126 includes, for example, a speed sensor, accelerationsensors, a steering angle sensor, traction-related sensors,braking-related sensors, or any sensor, or combination of sensors, thatis operable to report information regarding some aspect of the currentdynamic situation of the vehicle 100.

In some embodiments, the sensor 126 includes sensors that are operableto obtain information regarding the physical environment surrounding thevehicle 100. For example, one or more sensors detect road geometry andobstacles, such as fixed obstacles, vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians.The sensor 126 can be or include one or more video cameras,laser-sensing systems, infrared-sensing systems, acoustic-sensingsystems, or any other suitable type of on-vehicle environmental sensingdevice, or combination of devices, now known or later developed. Thesensor 126 and the location unit 116 may be combined.

Although not shown separately, the vehicle 100 may include a trajectorycontroller. For example, the controller 114 may include a trajectorycontroller. The trajectory controller may be operable to obtaininformation describing a current state of the vehicle 100 and a routeplanned for the vehicle 100, and, based on this information, todetermine and optimize a trajectory for the vehicle 100. In someembodiments, the trajectory controller outputs signals operable tocontrol the vehicle 100 such that the vehicle 100 follows the trajectorythat is determined by the trajectory controller. For example, the outputof the trajectory controller can be an optimized trajectory that may besupplied to the powertrain 104, the wheels 132/134/136/138, or both. Theoptimized trajectory can be a control input, such as a set of steeringangles, with each steering angle corresponding to a point in time or aposition. The optimized trajectory can be one or more paths, lines,curves, or a combination thereof.

One or more of the wheels 132/134/136/138 may be a steered wheel, whichis pivoted to a steering angle under control of the steering unit 110; apropelled wheel, which is torqued to propel the vehicle 100 undercontrol of the transmission 108; or a steered and propelled wheel thatsteers and propels the vehicle 100.

A vehicle may include units or elements not shown in FIG. 1 , such as anenclosure, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, aNear-Field Communication (NFC) module, a liquid crystal display (LCD)display unit, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit, aspeaker, or any combination thereof.

The vehicle, such as the vehicle 100, may be an autonomous vehicle or asemi-autonomous vehicle. For example, as used herein, an autonomousvehicle as used herein should be understood to encompass a vehicle thatincludes an advanced driver assist system (ADAS). An ADAS can automate,adapt, and/or enhance vehicle systems for safety and better driving suchas by circumventing or otherwise correcting driver errors.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example of a portion of a vehicletransportation and communication system 200 in which the aspects,features, and elements disclosed herein may be implemented. The vehicletransportation and communication system 200 includes a vehicle 202, suchas the vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 1 , and one or more external objects,such as an external object 206, which can include any form oftransportation, such as the vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 1 , a pedestrian,cyclist, as well as any form of a structure, such as a building. Thevehicle 202 may travel via one or more portions of a transportationnetwork 208, and may communicate with the external object 206 via one ormore of an electronic communication network 212. Although not explicitlyshown in FIG. 2 , a vehicle may traverse an area that is not expresslyor completely included in a transportation network, such as an off-roadarea. In some embodiments, the transportation network 208 may includeone or more of a vehicle detection sensor 210, such as an inductive loopsensor, which may be used to detect the movement of vehicles on thetransportation network 208.

The electronic communication network 212 may be a multiple access systemthat provides for communication, such as voice communication, datacommunication, video communication, messaging communication, or acombination thereof, between the vehicle 202, the external object 206,and an operations center 230. For example, the vehicle 202 or theexternal object 206 may receive information, such as informationrepresenting the transportation network 208, from the operations center230 via the electronic communication network 212.

The operations center 230 includes a controller apparatus 232, whichincludes some or all of the features of the controller 114 shown in FIG.1 . The controller apparatus 232 can monitor and coordinate the movementof vehicles, including autonomous vehicles. The controller apparatus 232may monitor the state or condition of vehicles, such as the vehicle 202,and external objects, such as the external object 206. The controllerapparatus 232 can receive vehicle data and infrastructure data includingany of: vehicle velocity; vehicle location; vehicle operational state;vehicle destination; vehicle route; vehicle sensor data; external objectvelocity; external object location; external object operational state;external object destination; external object route; and external objectsensor data.

Further, the controller apparatus 232 can establish remote control overone or more vehicles, such as the vehicle 202, or external objects, suchas the external object 206. In this way, the controller apparatus 232may teleoperate the vehicles or external objects from a remote location.The controller apparatus 232 may exchange (send or receive) state datawith vehicles, external objects, or a computing device, such as thevehicle 202, the external object 206, or a server computing device 234,via a wireless communication link, such as the wireless communicationlink 226, or a wired communication link, such as the wired communicationlink 228.

The server computing device 234 may include one or more server computingdevices, which may exchange (send or receive) state signal data with oneor more vehicles or computing devices, including the vehicle 202, theexternal object 206, or the operations center 230, via the electroniccommunication network 212.

In some embodiments, the vehicle 202 or the external object 206communicates via the wired communication link 228, a wirelesscommunication link 214/216/224, or a combination of any number or typesof wired or wireless communication links. For example, as shown, thevehicle 202 or the external object 206 communicates via a terrestrialwireless communication link 214, via a non-terrestrial wirelesscommunication link 216, or via a combination thereof. In someimplementations, a terrestrial wireless communication link 214 includesan Ethernet link, a serial link, a Bluetooth link, an infrared (IR)link, an ultraviolet (UV) link, or any link capable of electroniccommunication.

A vehicle, such as the vehicle 202, or an external object, such as theexternal object 206, may communicate with another vehicle, externalobject, or the operations center 230. For example, a host, or subject,vehicle 202 may receive one or more automated inter-vehicle messages,such as a basic safety message (BSM), from the operations center 230 viaa direct communication link 224 or via an electronic communicationnetwork 212. For example, the operations center 230 may broadcast themessage to host vehicles within a defined broadcast range, such as threehundred meters, or to a defined geographical area. In some embodiments,the vehicle 202 receives a message via a third party, such as a signalrepeater (not shown) or another remote vehicle (not shown). In someembodiments, the vehicle 202 or the external object 206 transmits one ormore automated inter-vehicle messages periodically based on a definedinterval, such as one hundred milliseconds.

The vehicle 202 may communicate with the electronic communicationnetwork 212 via an access point 218. The access point 218, which mayinclude a computing device, is configured to communicate with thevehicle 202, with the electronic communication network 212, with theoperations center 230, or with a combination thereof via wired orwireless communication links 214/220. For example, an access point 218is a base station, a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, anenhanced Node-B (eNode-B), a Home Node-B (HNode-B), a wireless router, awired router, a hub, a relay, a switch, or any similar wired or wirelessdevice located at, e.g., a cell tower. Although shown as a single unit,an access point can include any number of interconnected elements. Theaccess point 218 may be a cellular access point.

The vehicle 202 may communicate with the electronic communicationnetwork 212 via a satellite 222 or other non-terrestrial communicationdevice. The satellite 222, which may include a computing device, may beconfigured to communicate with the vehicle 202, with the electroniccommunication network 212, with the operations center 230, or with acombination thereof via one or more communication links 216/236.Although shown as a single unit, a satellite can include any number ofinterconnected elements.

The electronic communication network 212 may be any type of networkconfigured to provide for voice, data, or any other type of electroniccommunication. For example, the electronic communication network 212includes a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), avirtual private network (VPN), a mobile or cellular telephone network,the Internet, or any other electronic communication system. Theelectronic communication network 212 may use a communication protocol,such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the User DatagramProtocol (UDP), the Internet Protocol (IP), the Real-time TransportProtocol (RTP), the Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP), or acombination thereof. Although shown as a single unit, an electroniccommunication network can include any number of interconnected elements.

In some embodiments, the vehicle 202 communicates with the operationscenter 230 via the electronic communication network 212, access point218, or satellite 222. The operations center 230 may include one or morecomputing devices, which are able to exchange (send or receive) datafrom a vehicle, such as the vehicle 202; data from external objects,including the external object 206; or data from a computing device, suchas the server computing device 234.

In some embodiments, the vehicle 202 identifies a portion or conditionof the transportation network 208. For example, the vehicle 202 mayinclude one or more on-vehicle sensors 204, such as the sensor 126 shownin FIG. 1 , which includes a speed sensor, a wheel speed sensor, acamera, a gyroscope, an optical sensor, a laser sensor, a radar sensor,a sonic sensor, or any other sensor or device or combination thereofcapable of determining or identifying a portion or condition of thetransportation network 208.

The vehicle 202 may traverse one or more portions of the transportationnetwork 208 using information communicated via the electroniccommunication network 212, such as information representing thetransportation network 208, information identified by one or moreon-vehicle sensors 204, or a combination thereof. The external object206 may be capable of all or some of the communications and actionsdescribed above with respect to the vehicle 202.

For simplicity, FIG. 2 shows the vehicle 202 as the host vehicle, theexternal object 206, the transportation network 208, the electroniccommunication network 212, and the operations center 230. However, anynumber of vehicles, networks, or computing devices may be used. In someembodiments, the vehicle transportation and communication system 200includes devices, units, or elements not shown in FIG. 2 .

Although the vehicle 202 is shown communicating with the operationscenter 230 via the electronic communication network 212, the vehicle 202(and the external object 206) may communicate with the operations center230 via any number of direct or indirect communication links. Forexample, the vehicle 202 or the external object 206 may communicate withthe operations center 230 via a direct communication link, such as aBluetooth communication link. Although, for simplicity, FIG. 2 shows oneof the transportation network 208 and one of the electroniccommunication network 212, any number of networks or communicationdevices may be used.

The external object 206 is illustrated as a second, remote vehicle inFIG. 2 . An external object is not limited to another vehicle. Anexternal object may be any infrastructure element, for example, a fence,a sign, a building, etc., that has the ability transmit data to theoperations center 230. The data may be, for example, sensor data fromthe infrastructure element.

As mentioned briefly above, the large volume of transportation networkdata collected from vehicles, infrastructure, etc., can complicate itsprocessing and usefulness, particularly at intersections within thevehicle transportation network. Systems and methods described hereinreduce latency and/or complexity regarding the prediction of futurebehavior, address inconsistencies in the data, minimize notifications,or some combination thereof.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a system 300 for intersection collision avoidanceaccording to implementations of this disclosure. The system 300 may beimplemented in a vehicle 302 transportation and communication system,such as the vehicle transportation and communication system 200, asdiscussed in more detail below. Although described with respect to avehicle 302 traveling through a vehicle transportation network, such asthe vehicle transportation network 208, the teachings herein may be usedin any area navigable by a vehicle. An intersection within the vehicletransportation network, as used herein, encompasses vehicle-navigablepaths that intersect each other, including entrances and exits toparking lots/garages and paths within (e.g., between parking spaces in)parking lots. Other examples of the system 300 can include more, fewer,or other components. In some examples, the components can be combined;in other examples, a component can be divided into more than onecomponent.

In general, FIG. 3 illustrates a multi-layered architecture that usesmulti-access edge computing (MEC) to process cooperative drivingautomation (CDA) messages sent from vehicles and infrastructure sensors.The MEC then sends back notifications to vehicles and other road users(e.g., vulnerable road users (VRU), such as pedestrians or bicycles) toavoid collisions. These other road users may be respectively referred toas a non-motorized road user herein. As shown, the system 300 desirablyuses standards-based communications (e.g., a standards-basedcommunication protocol) that eliminates the requirement for directvehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications.In the example described, network cellular vehicle-to-vehicle (C-V2X)(also called Network C-V2X) is used for data/message exchange. Thestandard-based communications are based on the Society of AutomotiveEngineers (SAE) J3216 Standard for Cooperative Driving, but any suitablecommunication protocol may be used that is capable of wirelesscommunication using cellular technology is possible.

The system 300 receives respective signals 302 a from one or moreconnected vehicles 302, which may be a vehicle 100, 202. The signals 302a may include position, speed, or any other information. The signals 302a may comprise a BSM (e.g., SAE 2735 BSM). In some implementationsdiscussed in further detail below, an intent signal INTENT may betransmitted from a connected vehicle 302. A VRU or non-motorized roaduser carries a communication device, such as a cellular device, totransmit a PSM and optionally receive notifications as described in moredetail below. A cellular device, also referred to as a cellular-enableddevice may be supported by a road user in any suitable manner.

The system 300 receives respective signals 304 a from one or more VRUs,such as the pedestrian 304. The signals 304 a may include position,speed, or any other information. The signals 304 a may comprise apersonal safety message (PSM) (e.g., SAE 2735 BSM).

The system 300 receives respective signals 306 a from one or moreinfrastructure sensors, such as an infrastructure camera 306. Aninfrastructure sensor may be associated with infrastructure within thevehicle transportation network. An infrastructure sensor monitors atleast a portion of an intersection. An infrastructure sensor may beincorporated into a standalone roadside unit (RSU), or may be mounted ona building, a traffic light, a streetlight, etc. The infrastructurecamera 306 can send signals 306 a including information about what isdetected, e.g., vehicles, VRUs, autonomous vehicles (AV). The signals306 a may include position, speed, or any other information. The signals306 a may comprise a BSM when a vehicle is detected and a PSM when a VRUis detected.

The signals 302 a, 304 a, and 306 a are received at a cellular interface308, which may comprise a wireless or cellular transceiver (or acombination of a wireless receiver and wireless transmitter) or anaccess point, such as the access point 218, located at a cell tower.Processing the received data may be performed at the MEC 310. The MEC310 includes a signal interface 312, a system to produce a shared worldmodel (SWM) 314, and a conflict detection module 316. The MEC 310 sitsat the edge of a mobile network (as opposed to cloud services on thepublic internet), such as at the network 212. For this reason, the MEC310 provides low latency for this application. Further, because thecomputing happens on the cloud using, for example, a server computingdevice 234, the MEC 310 is highly scalable as compared to performing thecomputing solely within vehicles, e.g., using V2V communications.

In the implementation shown, SAE standards-based messages are sent fromvehicles 302 to the MEC 310, from pedestrians 304, from infrastructurecameras 306, or other VRUs, or from combination thereof, using NetworkC-V2X over a cellular network. Further details of the communicationsystem of the MEC 310, including the signal interface 312, may be seenby reference to FIG. 4 , which is a diagram 400 of an example ofcommunications between a vehicle, such as the vehicle 302, and thesystem 300 of FIG. 3 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , the vehicle, such as the vehicle 100, 202 includesan interface 402. The interface 402 may be implemented at least in partby a processor, such as the processor 120. In this example, the vehicle302 is a connected vehicle, but not an autonomous vehicle. A connectedvehicle is one that is connected to the cellular network, eitherdirectly or by a cellular device of an operator. The interface 402 usesan intent 404 of the vehicle (e.g., of its operator) as input. Theintent 404 of the vehicle 302 can be determined in any manner, such asthe detection of a turn signal. The intent 404 can be input as a RobotOperating System (ROS) message in some implementations. A particularlyuseful optional technique for determining the intent 404 of the vehicleis described below.

The intent signal 404, also referred to as the signal INTENT herein,undergoes a data type conversion 406. The converted signal may be aJavaScript Object Notation (JSON) string 408. The JSON string 408 isconverted to bytes 410 for input to an encoding mechanism 412. Theencoding mechanism 412 encodes the bytes 410 and other sensor data(e.g., GPS) into an encoded signal in a format suitable fordevice-to-device communications over a cellular network. In an example,the encoding mechanism 412 encodes the data into JavaScript ObjectNotation (MQTT), which is a lightweight, publish-subscribe networkprotocol that transports messages between devices. The messages 422 aresent over a cellular network, such as the mobile network of a particularcellular provider, to a cellular interface, such as the cellularinterface 308. The messages 422 may be sent over a 4G network, a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) network, such as 4G LTE, a 5G network, or any othercellular network now known or hereinafter developed. The messages 422may be sent using the electronic communication unit 118, in someimplementations.

The cellular interface 308 receives the encoded messages 422 anddistributes them to one or more signal interfaces 312 for a MEC 310.That is, the MEC 310 is scalable as described above. Accordingly, thesignal interface 312 may be duplicated, along with the subsequentcomponents of the MEC 310, to accommodate different portions of thetransportation network, data above a defined amount, etc. The cellularinterface 308 may thus act as a broker for the messages to determinewhich MEC 310 should process the incoming messages. The encoded messages422 are transmitted through a network, such as a LAN 424, to theappropriate signal interface 312. The signal interface 312 converts themessages back to ROS or another format for use by the remainingcomponents of the system 300, namely the SWM 314 and the conflictdetection module 316.

As can be determined from this description, the interface 402 and thesignal interface 312 comprise hardware that collectively act as agateway between the messages used by the SWM 314 and the conflictdetection module 316 and the cellular network. In this example, theinterfaces respectively convert the data the MQTT format and publish thedata and then, on receipt, the MQTT messages are converted back toanother format (e.g., the native format of the SWM 314 and the conflictdetection module 316) for use in the determination of aconflict/collision as described in further detail below.

While the interface 402 receives and encodes the signal INTENT, this isnot required. Use of intent in the processing of FIG. 3 is optional. Forexample, the interface 402 could comprise only the encoding mechanism412, which encodes vehicle sensor data such as latitude, longitude,pose, speed, etc., or any combination thereof (e.g., the BSM). FIG. 4describes the interface 402 as being implemented in a vehicle, such asthe connected vehicle 302. A similar interface may be incorporated in aninfrastructure sensor, such as the infrastructure camera 306, forencoding and transmitting the detected signals, such as the signals 306a. Such an interface may either include or omit hardware/software todetermine and include the intent of a vehicle where the vehicle is thedetected object. A similar interface to the interface 402 that comprisesan encoding mechanism may be included in a cellular-enabled device(e.g., a mobile phone) of a VRU to encode sensor data such as latitude,longitude, pose, speed, etc., or any combination thereof (e.g., thePSM).

Referring back to FIG. 3 , the MEC 310 uses object fusion to generate ashared world model (SWM 314 that can be used for prediction and conflictdetection. As can be seen from the above, the MEC 310 may receive datafrom more than one source regarding the same object. At an intersection,for example, the MEC 310 may receive signals 302 a regarding theposition, etc., of the connected vehicle 302 and receive signals 302 athat include information regarding the position, etc., of the connectedvehicle 302. Similarly, the MEC 310 may receive signals 304 a regardingthe position, etc., of the VRU (e.g., pedestrian 304) and receivesignals 304 a that include information regarding the position, etc., ofthe VRU. The SWM 314 receives the signals 302 a, 304 a, 306 a,determines (e.g., converts to, detects, etc.) objects from the sensordata, and fuses objects detected by multiple sources (if any), andgenerates a single world view of the road users and their surroundings.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the SWM 314 comprises object association 314 a andobject fusion 314 b. In some implementations, the object association 314a may determine objects (e.g., road users) from the received signals 302a, 304 a, 306 a, e.g., the BSM and PSM messages. For example, objectassociation 314 a may associate location information within each of themessages with a respective road user, e.g., a connected vehicle, a VRU(e.g., a pedestrian or non-motorized vehicle), or an autonomous vehiclewithin the vehicle transportation network. The object association 314 amay generate or maintain a state for at least some of the determinedobjects, such as a velocity, a pose, a geometry (such as width, height,and depth), a classification (e.g., bicycle, large truck, pedestrian,road sign, etc.), a location, or some combination thereof.

The object fusion 314 b may receive the sensed objects over time, inaddition to the signals, such as the signals 302 a, 304 a, 306 a, e.g.,the BSM and PSM messages. Using data such as the heading and velocityinformation, for example, sensed objects may be fused where appropriate.That is, the data associated with each object may be compared todetermine whether respective objects identified by separate messages maybe the same object. Any technique for comparing the data of each sensedobject may be used. The more similar the data is, the more likely twoobjects are the same. The data of the objects determined to be the sameobject are fused to generate a tracked object at positions over time.Its fused trajectory (e.g., based on a combination of heading, pose, andspeed, for example) may be used in the conflict detection module 316.That is, at the output of the SWM 314, each road user is a separatetracked object with a respective trajectory or intended path to supplyto the conflict detection module 316 for use therein.

Although described as separate components of the SWM 314, a shared worldmodel used in the MEC 310 may require many overlapping detections toproduce a result. That is, the object association and fusion are coupledand performed iteratively. While this implementation of a shared worldmodel may be used in the MEC 310, a particularly desirableimplementation of the SWM 314 is described in detail below.

The conflict detection module 316 receives the tracked objects and theirrespective trajectories. The conflict detection module 316 uses thisinformation to predict a possible collision between a connected vehicle,such as the connected vehicle 302, and nearby vehicles or VRUs, such asthe pedestrian 304, at an intersection. The conflict detection module316 does this, in some implementations, by using the trajectories over alook-ahead period to determine where each of the road users will be attime points in the look-ahead period.

In some examples herein, an infrastructure sensor of a RSU may detectnon-connected road users (e.g., pedestrians) and connect to connectedroad users (e.g., connected vehicles). For non-connected road uses,prediction can be done by measurements from infrastructure sensor(s)over time (e.g., speed and heading). For connected road users, theintended path can be similarly predicted from such measurements. Atintersections, however, the measurements may not provide the bestindication of the intended path because there may be a change, such as aturn, that is not identifiable from the measurements. Accordingly, insome implementations the signal INTENT may be used for determining theintended path for connected vehicles as described in additional detailbelow. The predicted / intended trajectories of the road users can thenbe compared to determine if conflict would occur.

For conflict detection between a non-connected road user (e.g., apedestrian or non-connected vehicle) and a connected vehicle, thelocations at time points or steps in the look-ahead period that thenon-connected user is likely to reach are determined, as are those forthe connected vehicle, e.g., using the precited / intended paths andspeeds. The distance between paths at future time steps may be computed.Then, when the distance between the paths is shorter than a threshold, aconflict may be detected. Stated differently, if two or more road usersare within a defined proximity of each other at a particular time point,the conflict detection module 316 can identify a potential conflict andoptionally send a notification to the connected vehicle and any otheraffected road user.

This is one technique for detecting a potential conflict at some pointin the future between the two paths. However, other techniques arepossible, another of which is described below by example. Notificationsare also described in more detail below.

In some implementations, conflict detection may use the intent of theoperator of the connected vehicle to determine the path of the connectedvehicle for at least a portion of the look-ahead period. This is thesignal INTENT received with the signals 302 a from the connected vehicle302 in some implementations. The signal INTENT may be used to share theoperator’s intentions for cooperative driving. Traditional safetysystems may not consider intentions that are not otherwise indicated bythe pose, heading, velocity, etc., and may thus overly rely on theproximity of the connected vehicle and other vehicles or VRUs near anintersection.

In the example described above, the turn signal may be used to determinethe operator’s intent for use in the conflict detection module 316. Forexample, the turn signal may indicate that the connected vehicle 302will be taking a right turn at a 4-way intersection. Together with theother information received from the road users near the intersection,notifications may issue from the conflict detection module 316 that arethe result of more accurate predictions than relying solely upon the BSMand PSM messages. A specific example of the signal INTENT is discussedfurther below.

Where a connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) is at or near an intersectionthat a connected vehicle or VRU is approaching or navigating, decisionmaking of the CAV may be improved by using the teachings herein. In FIG.3 , a CAV 320 is conventionally shown as including sensor inputs into afusion unit 324. The hardware sensors shown include a camera and a LightDetections and Ranging sensor (LiDAR). Other sensors conventionallyfound on an autonomous vehicle may include a GPS and a radio detectionand ranging (RADAR) sensor. The fusion unit 324 receives the signals andfuses the objects identified by the sensors into tracked objects forinclusion in a shared world model executed by a processor of the CAV320, such as the processor 120 of FIG. 1 .

An autonomous vehicle, such as the CAV 320, conventionally has a sharedworld model. According to implementations of this disclosure, the sharedworld model of the CAV 320 can also receive the BSM and PSM messagesfrom the cellular interface 308 to refine the shared world model. Thatis, in addition to reconciling its own sensor values to identify objectsusing the fusion unit 324, the CAV 320 may include another instance ofthe SWM 314 executed by a processor of the CAV 320, such as theprocessor 120 of FIG. 1 , to generate tracked objects and theirrespective trajectories. The shared world model of the CAV 320 may alsobe different from (i.e., operate differently from) the SWM 314 in someimplementations. In either event, the tracked objects and theirrespective trajectories are sent to a decision-making module 326. TheCAV 320 does not need a separate conflict detection module, like theconflict detection module 316, because the decision-making module 326may be a conventional module for decision making that already addressesconflict detection and resolution.

As mentioned above, a shared world model may be used in a system forintersection collision avoidance, whether that system is located withina vehicle or at a remote computing location. In general, objectdetections from multiple sensors are desirably combined to avoidconfusing the system. For example, the multiple sensors may detectpedestrians at different locations, when only one pedestrian is present.Failure to use a shared world model may cause the ego vehicle to attempta maneuver around the multiple pedestrian detections instead of thesingle pedestrian.

In some implementations of a shared world model that can be used as theSWM 314, the time to combine object detections from multiple sources maybe dictated by the slowest sensor. This is because the shared worldmodel can require overlapping detections that iteratively perform objectassociation and fusion. A result can take up to a second to be produced.This situation is made worse when communication delays are added. Forexample, in the system 300, communication delays may occur when sendinginformation over the cellular network from a connected sensor. Receivingand resolving sensor data in a timely fashion are important for makingsafety-critical maneuvers, e.g., activating automatic emergency braking(AEB) or swerving.

One particularly desirable system 500 that generates a shared worldmodel is shown by example in FIG. 5 . The system 500 addresses some ofthe latency issues mentioned above by decoupling the object associationand object fusion steps to combine the object detections from differentsensors. The resulting shared world model may be used as the SWM 314 inFIG. 3 . The resulting shared world model may be used for intersectioncollision avoidance according to implementations of this disclosure. Theproposed architecture of the system 500 allows quicker action thanconventional techniques and is limited only by the fastest sensor, notthe slowest (e.g., the most delayed) sensor. While particularly usefulwith the MEC 310 and optionally connected autonomous vehicles, such asCAV 320, the system 500 may be used with any autonomous vehicle thatreceives external sensor data (i.e., sensor data from sensors other thanthose of the autonomous vehicle).

As can be seen in FIG. 5 , inputs 502 are received from sensors numbered1, 2, ...N. The inputs 502 may correspond to the BSM from a connectedvehicle, the PSM from a VRU, the PSM from an occupant in a connectedvehicle, the PSM from an infrastructure sensor, the BSM from aninfrastructure sensor, or some combination thereof as described abovewith regards to FIG. 3 . At least some of these inputs 502 areasynchronous signals or messages. That is, the sensors each have theirown characteristics, such as sampling rates. Moreover, the amount oftime required for each sensor to communicate with the SWM 314 (e.g., tothe cellular interface 308 in FIG. 3 ) may vary. Thus, their respectivesignals may be sent at different times and/or received at differenttimes.

The inputs 502 are received at respective perception and filter modules504. The perception and filter modules 504 may implement, in part, theobject association 314 a. The perception and filter modules 504 produce,determine, perceive, or otherwise identify objects (e.g., road users)from respective inputs. Any technique may be used to identify theobjects from the inputs, including but not limited to pattern matching,comparisons to libraries of data, etc. As shown by the dashed lines inFIG. 5 , detections of the perceived objects from the different sensorsare immediately sent to downstream decision-making (e.g., the objectfusion and prediction module 610 described below) while the objectassociation continues in parallel at the interpolators 606. Thedetections may be referred to as unsynchronized detectors.

A master clock that can reference a variety of timing sources provides asynchronized output to the interpolators 506. The perceived objects arealso provided to the interpolators 506 as described above. The perceivedobjects are provided with time points at which they are perceived, whichtime points are unsynchronized. Each of the interpolators 506 for arespective perceived object may be used to interpolate the perceivedobjects at a synchronized timing based on the signal from the masterclock. That is, based on the unsynchronized detections and other datafrom the inputs 502 (e.g., velocity, headings, etc.), the location ofthe perceived objects at the synchronized time points indicated by themater block are determined.

Each of the interpolators 506 outputs two signals based on the locationof the perceived objects at the synchronized time points. The firstsignal is referred to as a synchronized tracklet. A synchronizedtracklet is a location of a perceived object at each time pointindicated by the master clock. These tracklets are provided to a trackassociation and calibration module 608 and an object fusion andprediction module 510. The second signal is referred to as asynchronized detection. These synchronized detections are provided tothe track association and calibration module 508 and the object fusionand prediction module 510.

The track association and calibration module 508 receives thesynchronized tracklets and the synchronized detections and associatesthe signals at the synchronized time points with respective objects overtime. Object association is the matching of objects perceived by onesensor with objects perceived by another, perhaps from a differentvantage point (e.g., infrastructure camera observations of a pedestrianwith the reported GPS position of the pedestrian from their phone). Thetrack association and calibration module 508 may also compute extrinsicrelative sensor calibrations. The object associations and sensorcalibrations are sent to the object fusion and prediction module 510.

The object fusion and prediction module 510 fuses duplicate detectionsin a shared world model. This includes objects and their predictedpaths, for example. The shared world mode is sent for decision making512. For example, connected road users (vehicles, pedestrians, etc.) mayrely on cloud conflict detection decision making, such as at theconflict detection module 316, to send timely warnings of detectedhazards. An autonomous vehicle relies firstly on its own sensors fordecision making but can augment its world model with (delayed)detections from the off-board connected sensors when available., such asat the decision-making module 326.

The sensor calibrations aid in the fusion of objects. They may also beretained to speed up future associations.

In addition to reducing latency over competing techniques for generatinga shared world model, the system 500 may produce a more accurate sharedworld model. That is, performing object fusion with incorrectlyassociated objects results in errors that are difficult to correct. Bythe delay in object fusion resulting from the decoupling of objectfusion from object association, the chances of such errors are reduced.

As mentioned with regards to the description of FIG. 3 , the intent of avehicle (e.g., the intent of an operator of the vehicle) may be usefulin collision or conflict detection. The probability of a collision of avehicle (e.g., a connected vehicle) with another vehicle or a VRU can bepredicted with higher accuracy if the intended path of each vehicle isknown for the next few seconds. For example, if a right turn signal ison, whether the vehicle is going to take a right turn, pass a vehicle,or make a lane change may not be clear from the heading or speed alone.

In general, a technique proposed herein can use a high-definition map(HD map) in conjunction with either the destination entered in thenavigation system or the turn signal to predict the future path of aconnected vehicle. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method 600 for determiningthe intent of the connected vehicle. The method 600 may be performed bya processor of a connected vehicle, such as a processor of the connectedvehicle 302. The processor of the connected vehicle may be a standaloneprocessor, the processor of an on-board navigation system, or aprocessor incorporated into a cellular interface of the connectedvehicle such as the interface 402.

At 602, a destination message for a connected vehicle of interest (e.g.,a vehicle entering, traversing, approaching, etc., an intersection) maybe determined or received. The destination message, when present (e.g.,the vehicle has one established), may be determined or received from anon-board navigation system of the vehicle. At 604, a turn signaldirection message for a vehicle may be determined or received. The turnsignal direction may also be referred to as the direction of the turnsignal or simply the direction herein. The turn signal direction may bedetermined periodically, when the vehicle is within a defined distancefrom an intersection, and/or when the vehicle generates a turn signalchange message responsive to an operator action to engage or disengagethe turn signal. When the turn signal is off, the direction is straightahead.

The HD map is used for input at 606. Namely, the HD map may provideinput at 606 to compute a possible intended path for the vehicle usingthe destination (e.g., destination message) at 612. For example, thepossible intended path may be or include a lane-wise path to thedestination. Because a HD map provides speed limits and other roadfeatures like stop lines and pedestrian crossings, this information maybe used to define multiple waypoints along the path with informationlike the type of waypoint and a speed limit (also referred to as drivegoals) for the next few seconds, such as 10-15 seconds.

Alternatively, or additionally, the HD map may provide input at 606 tocompute a possible intended path for the vehicle using the turn signaldirection at 614. The speed limits and other road features like stoplines and pedestrian crossings of the HD map may provide input at 606 todefine the multiple waypoints along the path with information like thetype of waypoint and a speed limit for the next few seconds considering,for example, whether the turn signal direction indicates a right turn, aleft turn, or is off (e.g., when entering an intersection or after aturn or lane change is completed).

Once the possible intended path is computed at 612, 614, or both, themethod 600 advances to determine which possible intended path is mostaccurate prediction. Where there is a destination available at 602, andthe possible intended path is computed at 612, the method 600 queries at622 whether the turn signal direction is available. If not, the method600 uses the possible intended path computed from the destination asindicating the intent of the vehicle at 632. In contrast, where there isa turn signal direction available at 604, and the intended path iscomputed at 614, the method 600 queries at 624 whether there is adestination available. If not, the method 600 uses the possible intendedpath computed from the turn signal direction as indicating the intent ofthe vehicle at 634.

If both there is a turn signal direction at 622 and a destination at624, the method 600 determines, at 630, whether the turn signaldirection matches the possible intended path computed at 612. Forexample, the method 600 determines whether the intended path includes aright turn or a change to a right lane where the turn signal changes toa right turn. If they match at 630, the method 600 uses the intendedpath computed from the destination as indicating the intent of thevehicle at 632. If not, the method 600 uses the intended path computedfrom the turn signal as indicating the intent of the vehicle at 634.These choices reflect two considerations. First, the turn signal aloneis not the most accurate measure of the driver intent. Second, if boththe turn signal and the destination are available, the turn signal mayimprove the measure of the driver intent. For example, a turn signalthat contradicts the intended path determined at 612 likely indicatesthat the operator of the vehicle has decided to alter the mostly likelypath generated using the destination.

In either case, the drive goals help in determining when and where thevehicle is predicted to be at a particular time within the next fewseconds. This information may be used, along with the presence, intent,or both, of other road users (e.g., vehicles, VRUs, etc.) to predict theprobability of a conflict or collision. For example, the points alongeach of the predicted paths for the road users at an intersection may beused to identify possible collisions in the event no action is taken asdescribed above with regards to the conflict detection module 316.

In some implementations, the intended path determined by repeatedlyperforming the method 600 may be used to produce the signal INTENT,which indicates the intent of the connected vehicle (e.g., of anoperator of the connected vehicle), as described with regards to FIG. 3. Where used in the implementation of FIG. 3 , the signal INTENT may beused as input to the conflict detection module 316.

In an example, when a destination is set in a navigation system, thepath to the destination is generated using the HD map at 612. This givesa list of lane segments starting from the current position of the caruntil the destination. For generating intent, only a portion of the pathahead that the vehicle will travel in a defined amount of time or adefined distance may be considered. For example, only the portion of thepath in the next 15 seconds or 500 meters, whichever is larger, isconsidered. This limits the amount of data that will need to be sent forthe intent. A list of drive goals (e.g., waypoints, time points, timesteps) is generated starting from the lane segment where the car isuntil an end of the selected path (e.g., until an end of the portion ofthe path). Each drive goal may contain information such as speed limit,goal type (e.g., stop, pedestrian crossing etc.). An example of theformat of an intent message (e.g., the signal INTENT) is as shown below.

temp_id Vehicle ID Latitude Current position of the vehicle LongitudeCurrent position of the vehicle Heading Current heading of the vehicleSpeed Current speed of the vehicle drive_goals List of drive goals

The list of drive goals in the intent message may be separate drive goalmessages. An example of the format of a drive goal contained within theintent message is as shown below.

drive_goal_id ID of this drive goal lane_id Unique identifier (ID) ofthe lane segment in the HD map Latitude Expected position of the vehiclefor this goal Longitude Expected position of the vehicle for this goalHeading Expected heading of the vehicle for this goal approach_speedDesired speed of the vehicle in the segment between the end of theprevious drive goal and arriving at this goal longitudinal_positionDistance from beginning of lane distance_from_previous_goal Distancefrom previous drive goal Type Drive goal label according to purpose

If turn signal is going to be used, then the path ahead (lane segments)is queried from the HD map. If another intersection comes after theimmediate turn, then the intended path may be generated only until thenew intersection. Then, a new intended path may be generated for thenext intersection.

Using a HD map along with either the destination or turn signal (orboth) according to the teachings herein allows predicting with a higheraccuracy what a connected vehicle may be doing than using speed andheading. For example, the technique provides not only the intent butalso the intended speed at different points along the path. Moreover,the technique allows the determination of which lanes that the vehiclewill follow for the next few seconds. This is useful in safetyapplications for notifying drivers of an impending collision.

For non-connected vehicles and VRUs, heading and trajectory can be usedto determine the predicted path for the look ahead period (in thisexample, 15 seconds or 500 meters) as described briefly above withregards to FIG. 3 . In some implementations, at least a portion of themethod 600 may be performed by a processor in a RSU that supports aninfrastructure sensor (e.g., the infrastructure sensor is housed by theRSU), such as an infrastructure camera 306. For example, the RSU maydetermine, at 604, a turn signal change message for a non-connectedvehicle. The turn signal change message, when present, may be detectedfrom images received by the infrastructure sensor. From that, theintended path may be computed at 614 and used as a signal INTENT at 734for conflict detection, such as at the conflict detection module 316 orby the processor of the RSU.

As may be understood from the above description, uncertainties can existin the intended or predicted paths, e.g., due to the technicallimitations of infrastructure sensors, the imperfection of predictionmodels, and the unknown intentions of road users, particularly VRUs. Toaddress some of these uncertainties and improve the detection ofpotential conflicts, such as at the conflict detection module 316, atechnique described herein describes conflict or hazard zones where VRUscan conflict with vehicles. This technique may be described withreference to FIG. 7 , which is a diagram of an intersection 700.

FIG. 7 is a three-way intersection 700, where the street 702 has a roaddivider 704. In some implementations, zones may be predefined for anintersection based on where a VRU may cross a road, such as where thelikelihood of a conflict is high. The size of the zones may bedetermined based on statistics of VRU (e.g., pedestrian) incidents, suchas how far a VRU is likely to travel within the intersection atdifferent locations and at different speeds. FIG. 7 shows five zones 706by example. A default zone size may be defined. In some implementations,a zone size may be determined at the time of detection of a VRU, basedon the location of the VRU relative to the intersection, and optionallythe type of VRU and/or the speed of the VRU (e.g., a bicycle would havea larger zone than a pedestrian).

In operation, a processor associated with a RSU (e.g., one associatedwith an infrastructure sensor of the RSU) or one associated with ashared world model, such as the SWM 314, can identify a location of aVRU (as a non-connected road user) over time. Once identified, a zonecan be defined for the VRU. The zone may be a predefined zone at adetected location, a default zone size placed according to the location,or a zone size determined as described above placed according to thelocation. As described above by reference to the example of the conflictdetection module 316, the measurements so made may be used to generate apredicted path.

Instead of limiting road users to a predicted path for the detection ofa potential collision within an intersection, the zone can be used inconflict detection where at least one of the road users is a VRU. In anexample where a vehicle is approaching an intersection with a VRU alsopresent, the time that the VRU is crossing the zone, such as one of thezones 706, may be determined using the predicted trajectory. The timethat the vehicle is going to cross the zone may determined according tothe predicted path (e.g., in the absence of the signal INTENT) orintended path (e.g., where signal INTENT is used). As describedpreviously, this may be performed at time steps or points for alook-ahead period. Once the points are known, a potential conflict isidentified if the intended path of the vehicle and the predicted path ofthe VRU would cross the zone at the same time.

For example, FIG. 8 shows a three-way intersection 800 similar to theintersection 700 shown in FIG. 7 except that no road divider 704 exists.Thus, three zones may be defined for the intersection. In FIG. 8 , anego (e.g., a connected) vehicle 802 is traveling in a first directionalong a street 810. An arrow 804 shows the intended path of the vehicle802. A (e.g., non-connected) vehicle 806 is traveling in the oppositedirection along the street 810. A pedestrian 808 (e.g., a VRU) has apredicted path crossing the zone 820. Based on when the vehicle 802 willcross the zone 820 as compared to the pedestrian 808, a potentialconflict is detected. Thereafter, a notification 830 to the ego vehicle802 may issue, such as from the conflict detection module 316. If aconflict is detected, the level of conflict may be computed based onlevel of deceleration is needed to avoid collision. In someimplementations, the level of deceleration may be compared to a maximumdeceleration such that a notification does not issue until the level ofdeceleration approaches the maximum deceleration.

As described above with regards to the conflict detection module 316,for conflict detection between vehicles, whether connected ornon-connected, a predicted path of each of the vehicles may bedetermined. That is, the paths and speeds of each vehicle may be used tocompare the future positions of the vehicles. Referring to FIG. 9 , forexample, a first vehicle 902 may have a predicted path 912 at definedtime steps 906, while a second vehicle 904 may have a predicted path 914at the same defined time steps 906. That is, the paths and speeds of thevehicles are used to compute their respective future positions. Thedistance between the paths 912, 914 at future time steps 906 may becomputed. In FIG. 9 , distance d₁ is a first distance between the paths912, 914, while distance d₂ is a second distance between the paths 912,914. The paths 912, 914 are converging to a potential conflict at 920.When the distance between the paths 912, 914 is shorter than a thresholdat some point before 920, the potential conflict is identified, and anotification may be issued. When at least one of the vehicles is aconnected vehicle, the associated path 912 or 914 may be a intended path(i.e., one that considers vehicle intention, such as the signal INTENT).

While a zone may be used for conflict / collision detection in the caseof a VRU as described above, a zone may also be used in a similar mannerfor other non-connected road users, such as a non-connected vehicle.

Whatever the type of road users approaching the intersection, conflictdetection may be performed by a processor of a RSU instead of, or inaddition to, the conflict detection module 316. To do so, RSU may host ashared world model matching the SWM 314 and conflict detection module316 of the MEC 310 that receive the signals from the cellular interface308 in a similar manner to the way the signal interface 322 receives thesignals. Alternatively, the RSU may host a conflict detection module,similar to the conflict detection module 316, that receives the objectsand trajectories from the SWM 314 (e.g., over the wireless cellularnetwork) to perform conflict detection and issue notifications whereappropriate. In another implementation, the intended path of a connectedvehicle can be received at a RSU.

Conflict warnings at the intersection can reduce risks of conflicts toVRUs and other road users. A useful early warning for conflict needs notonly to be accurate and precise, but also needs to be targeted. Thewarning should be given to the operator of a vehicle when it is reallyneeded. Providing warnings to all the detected conflicts may not reallyhelp operators prevent conflicts. Too many warnings may overwhelmoperators or distract operators from critical conflicts. On the otherhand, a complex traffic situation may distract the attention of avehicle operator from situations that may be safety critical to VRUs.

A technique is next described that can be used to identify or otherwisemodel which driving situations (e.g., paths through an intersection) aremore critical for safety warnings or notifications than other paths.Knowing this, targeted warnings or notifications may be delivered to a(e.g., connected) vehicle, while avoiding or minimizing warnings thatwould be less useful. The technique may use a database that includes thepaths for an intersection that are identified as more critical thanothers. The database may be stored in a storage device or memory locatedat the MEC 310 or a storage device or memory of a RSU for a givenintersection.

An example of identifying the paths that are more critical and thecontent of the database may be illustrated with reference to thefour-way intersection 1000 of FIG. 10 . In general, the paths identifiedare those where an operator would tend to be distracted from VRUs infavor of other road users. In such cases, extra attention by theoperator may be desirable. In a regular intersection where a vehicletravels in a right lane, such as the intersection 1000, an operator maymiss VRUs (e.g., non-motorists) while navigating (e.g., unprotected)left turns because the operator is paying more attention to oppositetraffic. FIG. 10 indicates the direction of travel for a vehicle inlanes of the intersection by the solid lines. As shown by the dashedline in FIG. 10 , there are four left turns through which a vehicle maytraverse the intersection 1000. Thus, there are four possible pathsthrough the intersection 1000 where the vehicle can take a left turn asshown in Table I below.

TABLE I Path Enter Exit First left turn Lane 4 Lane 7 Second left turnLane 2 Lane 5 Third left turn Lane 8 Lane 3 Fourth left turn Lane 6 Lane1

In this implementation, these paths are more critical than the fourstraight paths through the intersection 1000 from Lane 4 to Lane 1, fromLane 2 to Lane 7, from Lane 8 to Lane 5, and from Lane 6 to Lane 3, andare more critical than the four right-turn paths through theintersection 1000 from Lane 4 to Lane 3, from Lane 2 to Lane 1, fromLane 8 to Lane 7, and from Lane 6 to Lane 5. In other implementations,the right-turn paths may also be considered more critical than the fourstraight paths.

In operation, an intended path for a connected vehicle, such as theconnected vehicle 302, may be received. As described above, the intendedpath may be generated using the signal INTENT. In some implementations,a predicted path may be received instead of an intended path. Asdescribed above, the predicted path may be generated using sequentialsignals including location, heading, etc., from the connected vehicle302, from an infrastructure sensor, such as the infrastructure camera306, or both (e.g., optionally combined into a shared world model, suchas the SWM 314). The intended path determines (defines, identifies) boththe entering lane and the exiting lane for the vehicle. The combinationof entering and exiting lanes for the intersection may then be comparedwith the intended path to determine whether the path is within thedatabase as being a path that requires additional driver or operatorattention.

If the combination is within the database, the path may be labeled orotherwise identified within the conflict detection process, such as theprocess performed by the conflict detection module 316, for additionalconsideration. In FIG. 10 , for example, if a vehicle is taking the pathfrom Lane 2 to Lane 5, then the path would be labeled because this pathis located within the database as shown in Table I. In contrast, if thevehicle is taking the path from Lane 2 to Lane 7, the path would not belabeled.

Once the path is identified to the conflict detection process,additional consideration may be given to the path. That is, the pathuses a notification process different from a standard notificationprocess. For example, a notification threshold may be modified so thatthe conflict detection module 316 provides the operator of the connectedvehicle an earlier notice of the presence of a VRU than the conflictdetection module 316 would for other paths. This may be achieved by, insome implementations, decreasing the maximum deceleration valuedescribed previously. In other implementations, the additionalconsideration given to the path may correspond to providing anotification based on a VRU being within a defined distance from theconnected vehicle without regard to whether a potential conflict existsor does not exist resulting from the conflict detection.

FIG. 10 and Table I present one intersection by example. Referring backto FIG. 8 , an example of a three-way intersection 800 is shown. In thisexample, there is one unprotected left turn because the street thepedestrian 808 is crossing has a stop sign (as can be seen by the stopline). Hence, the database includes one entry. The vehicle 802 is takinga left turn as indicated by the arrow 804, which left turn correspondsto the path identified in the database for the intersection 800. Theconflict detection process issues the targeted warning or notification830 based on criteria for paths within the database that is differentfrom the criteria used for either the straight-ahead path for thevehicle 802 or for a vehicle approaching the stop line in the otherdirection.

Detecting potential collisions or conflicts and sending a warning forall paths through the intersection is not necessary. All such warningsor notifications may overwhelm or distract an operator. According to theteachings herein, a driver attention model (e.g., using the database)includes paths that an operator may be distracted from VRUs in favor ofother road users. The path of a connected vehicle so included isidentified so that an operator can pay additional attention to a VRU.The attention model is easy to build and easy to maintain, so the modeleasily adapts to different intersections. Further, the model may beeasily adjusted based on statistics of accidents at an intersection,making the system both flexible and robust.

The above explanations describe road users that are relatively easy todetect. Some road users, particularly VRUs, may be hard to detect. Thismakes accurately targeting notifications difficult.

For example, occlusion is important for the safety of VRUs at anintersection. VRUs that cannot be easily seen by operators or detectedby on-board sensors may cause higher risk of collision at anintersection. A technique for detecting whether a VRU is occluded to avehicle and sending an early warning to the vehicle to the reduce riskof collision between the vehicle and the occluded VRU at theintersection is next described with reference to FIG. 11 , which showsan intersection integrated with the system 300. However, the techniquemay be used solely with a RSU for a given intersection.

In general, an infrastructure sensor, such as the infrastructure camera306, if a RSU may detect positions of all road users, including dynamicconnected and non-connected road users, at an intersection on atwo-dimensional (2D) plane such as shown by example in the intersection1100 of FIG. 11 . The road users may include pedestrians, bicyclists,cars, trucks, etc., also referred to as dynamic obstacles. The RSU canperceive the environment around the intersection, such as staticobstacles (buildings, infrastructure, parked vehicles), in addition tothe dynamic obstacles. As explained initially, this can includepositions, shapes, and dimensions, among other information, for eachobstacle.

In general, once the obstacles and positions are known, a determinationcan be made as to whether an occlusion between two objects exists bychecking if a line-of-sight between two objects is blocked by static ordynamic obstacles. The conflict warning can then be targeted for theoccluded road users.

Specifically, and referring to the example of FIG. 11 , the road usersinclude the connected vehicle 302 and the pedestrian 304 as movingobstacles. Another road user is a parked vehicle 1102. An intended pathof the connected vehicle 302 is shown by the waypoints 1104. Theintended path may be determined using the signal INTENT as describedabove. To check if a road user is occluded to another road user,positions of each are identified. Thereafter, a straight-line segmentbetween the two positions is computed. In FIG. 11 , the straight-linesegments 1106 extends beyond the two initial positions of the connectedvehicle 302 and the pedestrian 304 for clarity.

Whether the computed line segment, such as the line segment 1106 in thisexample, intersects any other moving or stationary obstacle at theintersection determines whether a road user is occluded to another roaduser. In FIG. 11 , for example, the pedestrian 304 is labeled asoccluded to the connected vehicle 302 because there is an intersectionbetween the stationary (parked) vehicle 1102 and the line segment 1106.Targeted notifications can then issue to the connected vehicle 302, thepedestrian 304, or both. The process can be repeated over time usingupdated positions of the road users and line segment(s).

To minimize notifications, a notification can be omitted when there is aclear line-of-site (e.g., no intersection between a line segment and anobstacle). In some implementations, the notification may still issue, asdescribed previously, when a target deceleration is exceeded in theevent of a potential conflict. With this occlusion model, the conflictwarnings can be more targeted to occluded road users. These targetedwarnings can increase usability of a conflict warning system.

FIGS. 12A - 12C show examples of notifications that may issue when aconflict is detected, such as by the conflict detection module 316 or aprocessor of a RSU. In the example of FIG. 11 , either the conflictdetection module 316 or a processor of the RSU may determine that thereis a potential conflict between the connected vehicle 302 and thepedestrian 304 within the intersection 1100. In each of these examples,the connected vehicle 302 is projected to take a right turn at theintersection, and the pedestrian 304 is on the sidewalk adjacent to theroad or crossing the road after the right turn.

FIG. 12A is an example of a notification, such as the notification 302b, issued to the connected vehicle from the conflict detection module315 of FIG. 3 . This notification is a map display notification thatshows, to the left, the possible path through the intersection and therelationship of the pedestrian to the path and, to the right, thenotification that there is a pedestrian ahead. FIG. 12B is anotherexample of a notification for the same conditions using a heads-updisplay. Each of these notifications may be issued to the operator ofthe connected vehicle using the cellular network. The third example ofFIG. 12C uses a cellular network connection between the MEC 310 and amobile phone. It is possible to use the example of FIG. 12C to providethe notification 302 b to the connected vehicle 302. However, this isless desirable than using the examples of FIGS. 12A and 12B to notifythe connected vehicle 302. The example of FIG. 12C is preferably used toissue a notification, such as the notification 304 b, to a pedestrian304 from the conflict detection module 315 of FIG. 3 .

The technique illustrated by FIG. 11 does not rely on perception datafrom vehicles, although such perception data can be used as describedabove with regards to the MEC 310. Instead, the occlusion model can useonly detection from an infrastructure sensor, such as at a RSU, alongwith basic geometry / physics. Thus, the technique may be appliedgenerally to all road users. In some implementations, un-occluded roadusers may be filtered before potential conflicts between road users aredetermined. By such filtering, the computations necessary to checkconflicts between road users can be reduced.

In the above description, an unlimited view angle from a road user ofinterest (e.g., an ego vehicle such as the connected vehicle 302). Ingeneral, occlusion is determined if the line-of-sight is being blockedby obstacles. Instead of simply assuming an unlimited view angle fromthe vehicle, line-of-sight may be further limited to a specific range ofangles in some implementations. For example, the range of angles maydepend upon models of human driver view angles. The range of angles canbe limited to +60 degrees to -60 degrees from the heading of thevehicle.

In implementations where the line-of-sight is limited, the human driverview angles may be more precisely determined with eye tracking sensors.Occlusion detection can be more precise if eyes can be tracked within-vehicle sensors and shared with the RSU or the MEC 310. In anexample, the direction of the operator’s gaze relative to the heading ofthe vehicle may be measured and transmitted using wirelesscommunications, such as cellular communications. The processor of theRSU or the MEC 310 may infer the range of angles for the line-of-sightby the relative angle and the heading angle of vehicle. In someimplementations, eye tracking may sense the direction of the gazerelative to the heading of the vehicle on a continuous or periodicbasis, and the inference of the range of angles may be similarlyupdated.

In some implementations, a human view angle model may be omitted orsupplemented. That is, the above relies on the ability to infer theline-of-site based on a (e.g., world) model using observations made bythe infrastructure sensor(s) at an intersection. In practice, technicallimitations of the sensor(s) may result in a model insufficient todetect all occlusions or filter non-occlusions. Instead of or inaddition to the sensor data, what a human driver or operator can see maybe based on perception data of the on-board sensors. If the vehicleshave on-board sensors and can share perception data from the on-boardsensors, then the occlusion detection can be further improved with amore precise angle of view from the vehicle by integrating theobservations from the on-board sensors.

While the occlusion detection is described for targeting warnings tooperators of vehicles, the occlusion detection can also be useful forautomated vehicles to increase situational awareness around or in anintersection.

According to some aspects of the teachings herein, a system forintersection collision avoidance can include a processor. The processorcan comprise a shared world model configured to receive signals from atleast two road users in proximity to an intersection within a vehicletransportation network, wherein the at least two road users include anego vehicle and the shared world model is an output of a shared worldmodel generation system. The shared world model generation systemincludes an object association module that associates locationinformation within respective messages forming the signals with arespective sensed object over time and an object fusion moduleconfigured to, where at least two sensed objects correspond to the sameroad user, merge data of the at least two sensed objects to identify alocation of the same road user. Processing by the object associationmodule is decoupled from processing by the object fusion module suchthat a speed of generation of the shared world model is limited by afastest sensor providing the signals as opposed to a slowest sensorproviding the signals. The processor can also comprise a conflictdetection module that receives object information from the shared worldmodel, detects a potential future collision between the ego vehicle andanother road user of the at least two road users, and transmits anotification of the potential future collision to the ego vehicle.

In certain variations of this system, the signals from the at least tworoad users comprise asynchronous signals received at a perception andfilter module of the shared world model generation system, theperception and filter module produces unsynchronized detections ofobjects from the asynchronous signals and transmits the unsynchronizeddetections to the object fusion module concurrently with transmittingthe unsynchronized detections to interpolators of the shared world modelgeneration system, and the interpolators, using the unsynchronizeddetections, generate synchronized outputs for the respective objects toeach of the object association module and the object fusion module.

In certain variations of this system, the signals from the ego vehicleinclude an intent signal including a set of drive goals, and the intentsignal is generated based on at least one of a status of a turn signalof the ego vehicle or a destination setting of the ego vehicle.

In certain variations of this system, the conflict detection modulereceives the intent signal and detects the potential future collisionusing the intent signal.

According to some aspects of the teachings herein, a system forintersection collision avoidance can include a processor. The processorcan be configured to receive first signals identifying a location of afirst road user in proximity to an intersection within a vehicletransportation network, wherein the first road user is an ego vehiclethat is connected to a cellular network, receive second signalsidentifying a location of a second road user in proximity to theintersection, wherein the second road user is a non-motorized road user,receive at least one of a status of a turn signal of the ego vehicle ora destination setting of the ego vehicle, define a conflict zone for theintersection, wherein the conflict zone is an area of the intersectionwhere non-motorized road users are more likely to conflict withmotorized road users, generate, using the first signals and the at leastone of the status of the turn signal of the ego vehicle or thedestination setting of the ego vehicle, an intended path for the egovehicle to cross the zone, detect a potential future collision betweenthe ego vehicle and the non-motorized road user based on the ego vehicleand the non-motorized road user crossing any point of the zone at a sametime in a look-ahead period, and transmit a notification of thepotential future collision to the ego vehicle over the cellular network.

In certain variations of this system, the non-motorized road user is apedestrian.

In certain variations of this system, the processor can be configured tocan transmit a notification of the potential future collision to thenon-motorized road user.

In certain variations of this system, the processor can be configured toreceive third signals identifying a location of a third road user inproximity to the intersection, wherein the third road user is amotorized road user not connected to the cellular network, generate,using the third signals, a predicted path for the third road user tocross the zone, and detect whether the third road user crosses the zoneat a same time in the look-ahead period as the ego vehicle and thenon-motorized road user.

According to some aspects of the teachings herein, a system forintersection collision avoidance can include a processor. The processorcan be configured to receive first signals identifying, for a first roaduser, a path through an intersection within a vehicle transportationnetwork, wherein the first road user is an ego vehicle that is connectedto a cellular network, compare a combination of an entering lane and anexiting lane of the path to a database storing a combination of anentering lane and an exiting lane of the intersection, identify the pathas being a path requiring a notification process different from astandard notification process based on the combination of the pathmatching the combination of the intersection, receive second signalsidentifying a location of a second road user in proximity to theintersection, wherein the second road user is a non-motorized road user,and transmit, over the cellular network, a notification to the egovehicle of a presence of the second road user according to thenotification process and the location of the second road user.

In certain variations of this system, the non-motorized road user is apedestrian.

In certain variations of this system, the system includes a road sideunit supporting a infrastructure sensor and housing the processor.

In certain variations of this system, the path is an intended path basedon at least one of a turn signal or a destination of the first roaduser.

According to some aspects of the teachings herein, a system forintersection collision avoidance can include a processor. The processorcan be configured to receive first signals identifying a location of afirst road user in proximity to an intersection within a vehicletransportation network, wherein the first road user is an ego vehiclethat is connected to a cellular network, receive second signalsidentifying a location of a second road user in proximity to theintersection, define a straight-line segment between the first road userand the second road user in a two-dimensional plane, determine whetherthe straight-line segment intersects an obstacle between the first roaduser and the second road user, and where the straight-line segmentintersects the obstacle, transmit a notification of a presence of thesecond road user as occluded to the first road user over the cellularnetwork.

In certain variations of this system, the system includes a road-sideunit including an infrastructure sensor, and the processor is coupled tothe infrastructure sensor and the first signals and the second signalsare generated by the infrastructure sensor.

In certain variations of this system, the processor is configured to,where the straight-line segment intersects the obstacle, transmit thenotification of the presence of the second road user as occluded to thesecond road user over the cellular network.

Herein, the terminology “passenger”, “driver”, or “operator” may be usedinterchangeably. As used herein, the terminology “processor”,“computer”, or “computing device” includes any unit, or combination ofunits, capable of performing any method, or any portion or portionsthereof, disclosed herein.

As used herein, the terminology “instructions” may include directions orexpressions for performing any method, or any portion or portionsthereof, disclosed herein, and may be realized in hardware, software, orany combination thereof. For example, instructions may be implemented asinformation, such as a computer program, stored in memory that may beexecuted by a processor to perform any of the respective methods,algorithms, aspects, or combinations thereof, as described herein. Insome implementations, instructions, or a portion thereof, may beimplemented as a special-purpose processor or circuitry that may includespecialized hardware for carrying out any of the methods, algorithms,aspects, or combinations thereof, as described herein. In someimplementations, portions of the instructions may be distributed acrossmultiple processors on a single device, or on multiple devices, whichmay communicate directly or across a network, such as a local areanetwork, a wide area network, the Internet, or a combination thereof.

As used herein, the terminology “example,” “embodiment,”“implementation,” “aspect,” “feature,” or “element” indicate serving asan example, instance, or illustration. Unless expressly indicatedotherwise, any example, embodiment, implementation, aspect, feature, orelement is independent of each other example, embodiment,implementation, aspect, feature, or element and may be used incombination with any other example, embodiment, implementation, aspect,feature, or element.

As used herein, the terminology “determine” and “identify,” or anyvariations thereof, includes selecting, ascertaining, computing, lookingup, receiving, determining, establishing, obtaining, or otherwiseidentifying or determining in any manner whatsoever using one or more ofthe devices shown and described herein.

As used herein, the terminology “or” is intended to mean an inclusive“or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwiseor clearly indicated otherwise by the context, “X includes A or B” isintended to indicate any of the natural inclusive permutations thereof.If X includes A; X includes B; or X includes both A and B, then “Xincludes A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. Inaddition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and theappended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more”unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to asingular form.

Further, for simplicity of explanation, although the figures anddescriptions herein may include sequences or series of operations orstages, elements of the methods disclosed herein may occur in variousorders or concurrently. Additionally, elements of the methods disclosedherein may occur with other elements not explicitly presented anddescribed herein. Furthermore, not all elements of the methods describedherein may be required to implement a method in accordance with thisdisclosure. Although aspects, features, and elements are describedherein in particular combinations, each aspect, feature, or element maybe used independently or in various combinations with or without otheraspects, features, and/or elements.

While the disclosed technology has been described in connection withcertain embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosedtechnology is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments but, on thecontrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalentarrangements included within the scope of the appended claims, whichscope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation as is permittedunder the law so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalentarrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for intersection collision avoidance,comprising: a processor configured to: determine, for an ego vehicle inproximity to an intersection of a vehicle transportation network, atleast one a direction indicated by a turn signal of the ego vehicle or adestination setting of the ego vehicle; generate, where the direction ofthe turn signal is determined, a possible intended path for the egovehicle relative to the intersection using a high-definition map and thedirection indicated by the turn signal; generate, where the destinationsetting is determined, a possible intended path for the ego vehiclerelative to the intersection using the high-definition map and thedestination setting; where the direction indicated by the turn signaland the destination setting are determined: compare the directionindicated by the turn signal to the possible intended path generatedusing the high-definition map and the destination setting; select, wherethe direction matches the possible intended path generated using thehigh-definition map and the destination setting, the possible intendedpath generated using the high-definition map and the destination settingas an intended path for the ego vehicle; and select, where the directiondoes not match the possible intended path generated using thehigh-definition map and the destination setting, the possible intendedpath generated using the high-definition map and the direction as theintended path for the ego vehicle; select, where direction indicated bythe turn signal is determined and the destination setting is notdetermined, the possible intended path generated using thehigh-definition map and the direction as the intended path for the egovehicle; select, where the direction of the turn signal is notdetermined and the destination setting is determined, the possibleintended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting as the intended path for the ego vehicle; andtransmit, to a conflict detection module, a set of drive goals for theego vehicle relative to the intersection that conforms to the intendedpath, wherein the conflict detection module determines a potentialfuture collision with an other road user of the intersection based onthe set of drive goals.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the directionindicated by the turn signal is straight when the turn signal is off. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein the set of drive goals is containedwithin an intent message, the intent message includes a currentposition, a current heading, and a current speed of the ego vehicle, andeach goal of the set of drive goals includes an identifier of a lanesegment, an expected position and heading of the ego vehicle for thegoal, and a desired speed of the ego vehicle.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein to determine the destination setting of the ego vehiclecomprises to determine the destination setting from a navigation systemof the ego vehicle.
 5. A system for intersection collision avoidance,comprising: a processor configured to: determine, for an ego vehicle inproximity to an intersection of a vehicle transportation network, atleast one of a direction indicated by a turn signal of the ego vehicleor a destination setting of the ego vehicle; generate, where thedirection of the turn signal is determined, a possible intended path forthe ego vehicle relative to the intersection using a high-definition mapand the direction indicated by the turn signal; generate, where thedestination setting is determined, a possible intended path for the egovehicle relative to the intersection using the high-definition map andthe destination setting; where the direction indicated by the turnsignal and the destination setting are determined: compare the directionindicated by the turn signal to the possible intended path generatedusing the high-definition map and the destination setting; and select,based on a result of the compare, an intended path for the ego vehicleas either the possible intended path generated using the high-definitionmap and the destination setting or the possible intended path generatedusing the high-definition map and the direction indicated by the turnsignal; and transmit, to a conflict detection module, a set of drivegoals for the ego vehicle relative to the intersection that conforms tothe intended path, wherein the conflict detection module determines apotential future collision with an other road user of the intersectionbased on the set of drive goals.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein toselect the intended path comprises to: select the possible intended pathgenerated using the high-definition map and the destination setting asan intended path for the ego vehicle where the direction matches thepossible intended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting; and select the possible intended path generatedusing the high-definition map and the direction as the intended path forthe ego vehicle where the direction does not match the possible intendedpath generated using the high-definition map and the destination.
 7. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to: select, wheredirection indicated by the turn signal is determined and the destinationsetting is not determined, the possible intended path generated usingthe high-definition map and the direction as the intended path for theego vehicle.
 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor isconfigured to: select, where the direction of the turn signal is notdetermined and the destination setting is determined, the possibleintended path generated using the high-definition map and thedestination setting as the intended path for the ego vehicle.
 9. Thesystem of claim 5, comprising: a cellular transceiver for a cellularnetwork; and a processor located at a cellular access point formulti-access edge computing, the processor comprising: a shared worldmodel configured to receive, by the cellular transceiver, signals at thecellular transceiver from at least two road users in proximity to theintersection, wherein the at least two road users include the egovehicle and the other road user, and the signals conform to astandards-based communication protocol; and the conflict detectionmodule that receives the set of drive goals and object information fromthe shared world model, detects the potential future collision betweenthe ego vehicle and the other road user of the at least two road users,and transmits a notification of the potential future collision to theego vehicle over the cellular network.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the signals include an intent signal comprising the at least oneof a direction indicated by the turn signal of the ego vehicle or thedestination setting of the ego vehicle, and the signals are transmittedto the cellular transceiver that uses SAE
 2735. 11. The system of claim5, comprising: a wireless receiver coupled to the processor, wherein: todetermine the at least one the direction indicated by the turn signal ofthe ego vehicle or the destination setting of the ego vehicle comprisesto receive, at the wireless receiver, the at least one the directionindicated by the turn signal of the ego vehicle or the destinationsetting of the ego vehicle.
 12. The system of claim 5, comprising: aninfrastructure sensor that monitors at least a portion of theintersection, wherein: to determine the direction indicated by the turnsignal of the ego vehicle comprises to obtain an image using theinfrastructure sensor and to determine the direction from the image. 13.The system of claim 5, wherein: the processor is configured to: receivefirst signals identifying a location of the ego vehicle, wherein: togenerate, where the direction of the turn signal is determined, thepossible intended path for the ego vehicle comprises to generate thepossible intended path for the ego vehicle using the first signals, thehigh-definition map, and the direction indicated by the turn signal; andto generate, where the destination setting is determined, the possibleintended path for the ego vehicle comprises to generate the possibleintended path for the ego vehicle using the first signals, thehigh-definition map, and the destination setting; receive second signalsidentifying a location of the other road user; generate, using thesecond signals, a predicted path for the other road user; the other roaduser is a non-motorized road user, and the conflict detection module isconfigured to: define a hazard zone for the intersection, wherein: thehazard zone is an area of the intersection where non-motorized roadusers are more likely to conflict with motorized road users, and todetermine the potential future collision with the other road usercomprises to determine the potential future collision based on theintended path of the ego vehicle and the predicted path of the otherroad user crossing any point of the hazard zone at a same time in alook-ahead period.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the ego vehicleis connected to a cellular network, and the conflict detection module isconfigured to: transmit a notification of the potential future collisionto the ego vehicle over the cellular network; and transmit anotification of the potential future collision to the other road userover the cellular network.
 15. The system of claim 5, wherein: theintended path passes through the intersection, the processor isconfigured to receive signals identifying a location of a non-motorizedroad user in proximity to the intersection, and the conflict detectionmodule is configured to: compare a combination of an entering lane andan exiting lane of the intended path to a database storing a combinationof an entering lane and an exiting lane of the intersection; identifywhether the intended path is a path requiring a notification processdifferent from a standard notification process based on the combinationof the path matching the combination of the intersection; transmit anotification to the ego vehicle of a presence of the non-motorized roaduser according to the notification process and the location of thenon-motorized road user where the intended path is the path requiringthe notification process different from the standard notificationprocess; and otherwise, determine whether the standard notificationprocess indicates a notification to the ego vehicle of the presence ofthe non-motorized road user according to the location of thenon-motorized road user.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein thenon-motorized road user carries a cellular device, and the conflictdetection module is configured to: transmit, over a cellular network andto the cellular device, a notification to the non-motorized road user ofa presence of the ego vehicle according to the location of thenon-motorized road user.
 17. The system of claim 5, wherein the systemincludes a road-side unit supporting a infrastructure sensor and housingthe processor.
 18. The system of claim 5, wherein: the ego vehicle is afirst road user, the processor is configured to: receive first signalsidentifying a location of the first road user, wherein the set of drivegoals is determined using the location; and receive second signalsidentifying a predicted path of a second road user in proximity to theintersection, and the conflict detection module is configured to:define, using the predicted path and the intended path, a straight-linesegment between the first road user and the second road user in atwo-dimensional plane; determine whether the straight-line segmentintersects an obstacle between the first road user and the second roaduser; and transmit a notification of a presence of the second road useras occluded to the first road user where the straight-line segmentintersects the obstacle.
 19. A method for intersection collisionavoidance, comprising: determining, for an ego vehicle in proximity toan intersection of a vehicle transportation network, a directionindicated by a turn signal of the ego vehicle and a destination settingof the ego vehicle; generating a possible intended path for the egovehicle relative to the intersection using a high-definition map and thedirection indicated by the turn signal; generating a possible intendedpath for the ego vehicle relative to the intersection using thehigh-definition map and the destination setting; comparing the directionindicated by the turn signal to the possible intended path generatedusing the high-definition map and the destination setting; selecting,based on a result of the comparing, an intended path for the ego vehicleas either the possible intended path generated using the high-definitionmap and the destination setting or the possible intended path generatedusing the high-definition map and the direction indicated by the turnsignal; and transmitting, to a conflict detection module, a set of drivegoals for the ego vehicle relative to the intersection that conforms tothe intended path, wherein the conflict detection module determines apotential future collision with an other road user of the intersectionbased on the set of drive goals.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein:the direction indicated by the ego vehicle does not match the possibleintended path generated using the high-definition map, and selecting theintended path comprises selecting the possible intended path generatedusing the high-definition map and the direction as the intended path.